There’s not a whole lot of mystery behind what is on the line when North Texas hosts Arkansas State on Saturday — at least not for the Red Wolves.

At 5-5 with two games left, ASU has a shot at becoming bowl eligible and is in the midst of a heated race among several Sun Belt Conference teams to fill the league’s secondary bowl tie-ins, which appear as if they will provide the league at least a second bowl team this season.

Troy has already wrapped up at least a share of the conference title and is well on its way to clinching a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.

ASU still has a lot of work to do to get into a bowl game, a task that will begin with a game against UNT.

The Mean Green (1-10, 0-6) doesn’t appear to have as much to play for with the exception of avoiding becoming the first UNT team to go winless in conference play since 1972. UNT finished 0-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference in the final season before legendary head coach Hayden Fry took over the program.

“Everything that I say to my team is that we have a lot to play for,” UNT head coach Todd Dodge said. “We have a chance to get a win in our last home game. We are excited about our work week.”

UNT was hoping to have a lot more to play for at this point of the season, but lost its first eight games of the season. The Mean Green had some hope for going on a late-season run after a last second-win over Western Kentucky on Nov. 1, but promptly lost its last two games.

Middle Tennessee hammered UNT 52-13 on Saturday.

UNT will have to beat ASU in its season finale just to match last season’s 2-10 record in the first season of the Dodge era and send a small class of seniors out on a positive note.

That could be a challenge against a veteran ASU team that appears as if it might have gotten back on track last week with a win over preseason Sun Belt favorite Florida Atlantic.

The Red Wolves opened the season with a win over Texas A&M and were sitting at 4-2 before going on a three-game losing streak.

ASU can become bowl eligible with a win over UNT, the only team in the Sun Belt without at least two conference wins. That would open the door for ASU to potentially grab a spot in the St. Petersburg Bowl, Papajohn’s.com Bowl or Inde-pendence Bowl, if one of those games does not fill its slots through its primary contracts.

“We talked about the bowl possibilities a little bit, but we are concentrating on today and winning a game on Saturday,” ASU head coach Steve Roberts said. “It sounds like a cliché, but that is the reality.”

UNT prepares for top sack threat

UNT’s offensive line held up pretty well throughout the season in pass protection, at least when it came to the amount of sacks it had given up, before running into MTSU.

The Mean Green came into the weekend ranked fifth in the Sun Belt in sacks allowed with 18, a total that was at least a little deceiving considering UNT ranked second in the league in pass attempts with 433.

That run of solid play came to an end against the Blue Raiders, who finished with five sacks against UNT. The Mean Green previous high for sacks allowed in a game was four in a loss to Tulsa.

MTSU’s performance was arguably more damaging.

UNT lost just 8 yards due to sacks against the Golden Hurri-cane, but lost 30 against MTSU.

“Our situation had a little to do with injuries,” Dodge said. “[Starting left tackle] Victor Gill was sick. It was a miracle that he played at all, and we got beaten a lot in individual matchups.”

UNT will have to improve dramatically in its game against ASU. Red Wolves defensive end Alex Carrington leads the Sun Belt in sacks (11) and tackles for loss (18).

“He is very athletic and his motor runs hot,” Dodge said. “When we get our kids together on Tuesday morning, he will be the No. 1 guy we talk about.”

Tanner doubles up on UNT

Middle Tennessee running back Phillip Tanner doubled up on Sun Belt Player of the Week honors for his performance in a win over UNT.

Tanner rushed for 159 yards and five touchdowns, caught a 3-yard pass and also finished with 139 yards on kickoff returns, the majority of which came on a 92-yard touchdown return to open the second half.

Tanner was named both the Sun Belt’s Offensive Player of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance.

“Phillip is a good player and a good athlete,” MTSU head coach Rick Stockstill said. “He had some nice returns and is a good weapon back there. He has done a tremendous job returning kicks and also blocks well on returns.”

Tanner is the second player to double up on player of the week honors for his performance in a win over UNT this season. Troy defensive back Jorrick Calvin was named the Sun Belt’s Defensive Player of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week after the Trojans hammered the Mean Green 45-17 earlier this year.

Calvin posted nine tackles and an interception in addition to returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, which accounted for the majority of his 166 return yards against the Mean Green.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .